📖 Chapter 7: The King's Pressure
Darkness didn't feel empty.
It pressed.
Slowly.
Heavily.
Like something unseen was breathing through it.
Watching.
Waiting.
---
Roronoa Zoro stood still.
His chest rose—steady, controlled.
No panic.
No hesitation.
Only awareness.
---
Across from him—
His opponent shifted his stance.
Feet grounded.
Blade angled.
Eyes locked.
---
Silent.
Focused.
Careful.
---
Zoro smirked.
A slow, dangerous curve.
"…Come."
---
The man didn't speak.
Didn't hesitate.
He moved.
---
Fast.
Too fast for an ordinary shinobi.
---
A blur of motion—
A killing strike aimed straight for Zoro's throat.
---
Zoro didn't dodge.
---
He watched.
---
Felt.
---
Not the blade—
The intent behind it.
---
Sharp.
Focused.
Lethal.
---
Closer.
Closer—
---
Clang!
---
Steel collided.
Perfect timing.
---
But something else happened in that instant—
---
The air trembled.
---
Not from impact.
From him.
---
A pressure.
Invisible.
Violent.
---
It burst outward like a silent explosion.
Dust lifted.
The ground cracked beneath their feet.
---
The opponent staggered back—
Instinctively.
---
His eyes widened.
"…What… was that?"
---
Zoro frowned slightly.
"…Tch."
"…Not again."
---
That feeling—
It wasn't chakra.
It didn't flow.
It didn't form.
---
It pressed.
---
Wild.
Unstable.
Uncontrolled.
---
From the shadows—
Sai observed.
"…So it begins."
---
"Again."
His voice cut clean through the tension.
---
The opponent hesitated.
Just for a moment.
---
Then he attacked again.
Faster.
Sharper.
More desperate.
---
This time—
Zoro stepped forward.
---
Not reacting.
---
Dominating.
---
Clang!
---
Their blades met again—
---
BOOM!
---
A shockwave erupted outward.
---
The ground split.
The walls trembled.
Dust flooded the air.
---
The opponent froze.
---
Not because he chose to.
Because he couldn't move.
---
Fear.
---
Pure.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
---
Zoro saw it.
"…Hah?"
---
He stepped forward.
Slow.
Heavy.
---
Each step carried weight.
---
The man stumbled back.
His breathing broke.
"…I… can't…"
---
Above—
Hidden in silence—
Itachi Uchiha watched.
"…Not chakra…"
"…Interesting."
---
Below—
The opponent dropped his weapon.
It slipped from his fingers.
Clattered.
Loud.
Final.
---
Then he collapsed.
Unconscious.
---
Silence took over.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
---
All eyes turned to Zoro.
---
"…Stop staring."
---
Sai stepped forward.
"You felt it."
---
Zoro glanced at him.
"…Felt what?"
---
A pause.
---
"…Follow me."
---
They moved deeper.
Underground.
---
The air changed.
Colder.
Heavier.
---
The smell of iron thickened.
Rust.
Blood.
Something older.
---
Whispers echoed through the walls.
Soft.
Distorted.
---
Zoro's eyes narrowed.
"…This place…"
"…is wrong."
---
Sai answered without turning.
"They are not training."
---
A moment of silence.
---
"They are being shaped."
---
They stopped.
---
A chamber opened before them.
Wide.
Still.
Too still.
---
A single figure stood at the center.
Relaxed.
Unbothered.
---
Kakashi Hatake.
"…You brought me another problem?"
---
Sai nodded.
"He released something."
---
Kakashi stepped closer.
Slow.
Measured.
---
His visible eye sharpened slightly.
"…Do it again."
---
Zoro frowned.
"…I don't control it."
---
"Try."
---
Simple.
Direct.
---
Zoro closed his eyes.
Not forcing it.
Not chasing it.
---
Letting it rise.
From somewhere deeper than muscle.
Deeper than instinct.
---
From will.
---
Then—
A pulse.
---
BOOM.
---
The chamber shook.
Cracks spread across the ground.
The air compressed—
Like it couldn't breathe.
---
Sai's eyes narrowed.
---
Kakashi smiled faintly.
"…There it is."
---
Zoro opened his eyes.
"…What is this?"
---
Kakashi answered calmly:
"…Something rare."
---
A pause.
---
"…You dominate others."
---
Silence.
---
Zoro's smirk returned.
Wider.
Sharper.
"…Heh."
"…I like that."
---
Kakashi turned slightly.
"…This just got complicated."
---
Zoro rested his sword on his shoulder.
"…Good."
"…I was getting bored."
---
Silence returned.
---
But not for long.
---
Something shifted.
Suddenly.
---
Kakashi froze.
---
Sai's posture changed instantly.
"…Someone's here."
---
Zoro frowned.
"…Tch."
"…Again?"
---
But this time—
There was no sound.
No presence.
Nothing to detect.
---
And yet—
---
The air changed.
Colder.
Heavier.
Wrong.
---
Kakashi's gaze hardened.
"…This isn't Root."
---
Sai stepped back.
"…No…"
"…It's him."
---
A figure appeared.
---
No movement.
No warning.
---
Just—
There.
---
Black cloak.
Red clouds.
---
Zoro's grip tightened on his sword.
"…So you're the one watching."
---
Silence answered him.
---
Then—
Itachi Uchiha lifted his head.
---
Their eyes met.
Calm.
Unreadable.
Heavy.
---
"…So this is your power."
---
Zoro smirked slightly.
"…You understand it?"
---
"It's incomplete."
---
Silence dropped instantly.
---
Zoro's smile faded.
"…What?"
---
Kakashi stepped forward.
"…Itachi."
---
Tension exploded.
---
"You're forcing it," Itachi said.
"Without control…"
---
A pause.
---
"…It will break you."
---
Zoro's eyes sharpened.
"…Try me."
---
For a moment—
Nothing moved.
Time stretched.
---
Then—
Itachi's eyes turned red.
The pattern formed.
---
The air froze.
---
Zoro felt it.
Not pressure—
Something deeper.
Ancient.
Overwhelming.
---
His instincts screamed—
Move.
Now.
---
But—
He couldn't.
---
His body locked.
---
"Stop."
---
Kakashi's voice cut through everything.
Sharp.
Commanding.
"Itachi."
---
Silence.
---
Then—
The pressure vanished.
Just like that.
---
"…He's not ready."
---
Itachi's voice was calm.
Final.
---
A pause.
---
"…But he will be."
---
Zoro's grip tightened.
---
"For now…"
---
Itachi's gaze deepened.
"…survive."
---
And then—
He was gone.
No movement.
No trace.
---
Silence returned.
Heavier than before.
---
Zoro stood still.
"…Not ready?"
---
The ground beneath him cracked slightly.
---
A slow breath left him.
"…I'll cut through that too."
---
From the shadows—
A voice echoed.
Low.
Satisfied.
"…So it begins."
---
🔥 End of Chapter 7
Something inside Zoro has started to awaken.
Not chakra.
Not something normal.
Even Itachi saw the danger.
And next time—
It won't stop.
Continue reading.
---